I was sure, do to the totally unfair nature of the pre-Pitstop Detour, that this would be a non-elimination leg. It wasn't.
Detours usually have tasks where one requires clear thinking, with the other more physical. Both Detour tasks on this episode required physical strength.
It was painful watching Maria & Tiffany try so hard to swing that mallet to try and ring a bell so they could learn a Dutch dance. Then they gave up that and went through the hell of swimming across a cold canal to try and play Dutch farmer's golf. That also favored strength and the girls could not make it work. So, they gave up, swam back and tried to swing some more at the bell
Maria & Tiffany then gave up once more on the belling ringing/dancing and pedaled their bikes back for the pre-golf swim again. By now they were getting exhausted. Through it all Maria & Tiffany stayed good-natured and positive. They had been well ahead of Brian and nagging Banshee Erica.
Erica had terrible trouble counting bells. Then the Brian & Erica pair mised the part of the clue that told them to ride provided bikes to the Detour. Then when they finished the dance task and ate the pickled herring, they borrowed bikes to pedal to the Pitstop, where Phil told them, to Erica's crying anguish, that they'd incurred a 30 minute penalty.
We saw Maria & Tiffany try and try. They were exhausted. They did not fight. They supported each other. These girls were among the nicest racers I've seen on The Amazing Race. When the half hour was up Phil checked Brian & Erica in. Then Phil arrived at the golf field. He never actually told Maria & Tiffany they'd been eliminated. I kept expecting him to tell them it was a non-elimination round. But he didn't.
I would think however The Amazing Race tasks are created, that it should always be designed to be possible. These were not weak girls. They were not of the weak Mika crybaby sort.
I have not been enjoying The Amazing Race much this season, though Dubai and Vietnam were cool. And last week's Mika meltdown was good TV. I am very fickle with my TV viewing. Irritate me with something really irritating and I easily bail. I've not watched a second of Big Brother since that idiotic all-star season that that repulsive Boogie person, who was not an All-Star, won.
